Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater

Chapter 4: Resonance! - A Fight With The Galra?

The location of their very first mission was in a small town near Death City. Travelling there hadn't been the easiest, but Lance had tried his best to joke through the trip. Hunk and Shay seemed to appreciate it, whereas Keith rarely let out a chuckle on their way up. Still, Keith didn't appear to hate the light-hearted quips of his companions, and he more than likely hid a smirk behind a well-time cough. Hunk's puns, on the other hand, had Shay giggling away next to Hunk when she got the joke or cutely questioned her partner with the slightest tilt of her head and eager eyes. It was in those moments that Lance silently mourned the loss of having a female weapon. Shay was a cute meister and a supportive partner. If she'd been a weapon, Lance was almost certain that he would have asked her to partner up with him.

"Can you run me through the plan again?" Lance asked after a while. "I still don't get why we just need to tag along."

"You guys need a little more experience working together," said Hunk. "Practice makes perfect and all that. Also, Professor Coran explicitly assigned you both to be with us on this mission."

"Right, but how is this practicing?" Lance grumbled. "We're just supposed to be your back up. We're only supposed to go into battle if something goes wrong with you guys; not that anything could. You guys are rock solid."

"Thank you for your faith, Lance," said Shay lightly, "but never underestimate these mission requests. Sometimes they miscalculate the strength of the kishin eggs. You can never be too careful."

"I get that," said Lance. "I'm just itching to get out there and try out some of those moves Keith and I have been working on. We can't really do that if you guys are out there doing all the cool stuff."

"Fighting Kishin eggs aren't cool," said Keith finally. "It's part of our job. We're training to protect people."

"I got it, man." Lance nudged Keith's shoulder. "Loosen up a bit. Shay and Hunk are going to dominate this kishin egg, we'll probably just chill in the background, and we'll be back on the bus to Death City in no time."

Keith seemed reluctant to agree but nodded his head anyway. They walked through the city, studying the near desolation of the place. From the faded brinks to the weakened wood rooftops, Lance could tell that the town wasn't in the best shape. He and Keith followed Hunk and Shay past a series of vacant houses before they arrived at the home of their informant. She'd been waiting patiently in a chair on her porch and greeted them with only a minor amount of visible unease. She seemed a bit uncomfortable. That four teens were walking towards her but was soothed when they pulled out their AA ID badges.

"I'm glad you're all here," she said, "although I only put in a request for two."

"We're here training." Lance sidled up to her and bowed theatrically. "The name's Lance."

"Idra," she said, shying away from the attention a bit, "and you?"

"Keith." He shook her hand, trying to avoid letting his ire show as Lance kept throwing flirty remarks into the debrief session.

"I really appreciate you coming," Idra was saying now. "This thing was attacking people at night, and I'd heard about how meisters and weapons can get rid of monsters like that. Our guns weren't working fast enough, and it was honestly a nightmare."

"Attacking at night is a relatively common Kishin activity. We'll be sure to take care of it this evening," assured Hunk, while Shay wrote down their contact information.

"We'll be at this hotel," said Shay. "If you spot it in the streets, call this number and we'll come running."

"I understand." Idra clenched her fists. "I can't wait until our city is free from that monster."

Lance only spoke once "Do you think that we'll be able to track it down tonight."

"Yes," said Shay, "although we might have to split up at some point."

"Why?"

"This kishin egg doesn't seem particularly strong, so I don't think you'll need to be present, however Hunk and I will try our best to let you both witness the battle.

"But you also think there'll be a chance where we won't be altogether?"

"It's always a possibility." Shay bright eyes flickered between Keith and Lance. "If it happens, call our number."

"No worries," said Lance nonchalantly. "I have Hunk on speed dial.

"This kishin egg does give me weird vibes," added Hunk, "so we've all got to be careful, okay?"

"Okay."

Hunk frowned a little and cleared his throat to get Keith's attention. "Keith, how're you holding up?"

"Fine," he said curtly, surprised to be addressed at all.

"Good. You'll need to be able to guide Lance if things go sideways. Not that it will," he said quickly, "but just as a precaution."

Keith smiled as Lance exclaimed, "Hey! I'm not in need of guidance, or whatever. I'm the meister, remember?"

"I know, buddy," said Hunk soothingly, "but Keith also has a little more experience with this."

"As nice as it would be to get some action, they're right. We're not ready yet-" Keith shook the nervous energy out of his hands, "-but if we do get into a fight, I have no doubt that we'll be fine."

Lance grinned at him this time, more genuine than not. "Same here. We'd be fantastic in a battle. Just watch, guys."

Shay's eyes sparkled at them. "You're very enthusiastic," she said. "Perhaps we can save you the final blow."

"You'd do that?" Lance whooped at the offer. "Man, I can't wait for it to get dark so we can take this thing down."

'Dark' turned out to be later than they thought. By the time the sun had exchanged spots with the moon, Lance half-thought he was going to pass out. Shay was wide awake on the bed while Hunk had taken a nap on the pull-out sofa. Booking the room hadn't been the easiest and they were a little squished, especially because they had insisted on giving Shay the entire bed while the three boys shared the pullout couch. Lance fidgeted with one of the complimentary pens on the bedside table while Keith stared out the window, watching the shadows of each building crawl up the street with careful consideration. Lance watched his weapon sigh, shoulders slumping as he failed to find what he was looking for and flinched when he caught Lance's gaze.

"What?"

"It's nothing."

"Didn't look like nothing." Lance rolled off the bed and sidled up to his weapon partner. "What's out there? Cute girls you'd rather be chasing?"

"Lance," warned Keith.

"Cute boys then?" Lance leaned up against Keith to try and get a better view of whatever had caught his eye (or rather what he'd failed to see). The fabric of Keith's jacket rubbed smoothly against his own as Lance pressed up to Keith's shoulder. "What is it? What are you looking for?"

"The kishin egg," said Keith slowly before shifting his focus back to Lance. "The city seems extra quiet here, don't you think? I mean, the city didn't seem lively to begin with, but still."

"Hmm." Lance pulled away and leaned against the window so he could look at Keith. "I'm definitely getting weird vibes, just like Hunk said, but the city being extra empty and all that? I don't know. It's kind of different from what I'm used to."

"What do you mean?"

"Just, like, in terms of things being empty or full. I have a big family, so I'm used to everything bustling. Even after I moved away from home, I was always surrounded. You're never really alone at school."

Keith shrugged, eyes flickering back to the window. "You can still feel alone, even if you aren't."

"Dark, much?" He'd always thought Keith was aloof and proud. Keith was a character of the utmost skill, someone Lance could never reach. The Keith that he was getting to know was more human than he'd ever anticipated. Now, where Lance had once seen pride, he saw the hints of a boy just as eager to prove himself as Lance was. There was a weightiness to Keith's words that was more telling than anything Lance had ever seen on Keith's face. Perhaps Lance had felt hints of it before, but he'd never truly recognized it as something significant. Not like now, with Keith's shoulders in a slump and Lance's tan hand reaching for his-

The shrill sound of a telephone brought all their attention to Shay, who quickly picked up and answered the call with stone-cold civility. She nodded sharply and then hung up with a resolved look on her face. Lance felt Keith's muscles tighten and glanced over at him warily.

"What is it?"

"The pre-kishin has been spotted," said Keith. "Where?"

"Far side of the city," said Shay, taking three wide steps towards Hunk. She placed a light hand on his shoulder and shook him awake. "Hunk. We must go."

"Huh?" Hunk blinked blearily and took Shay's free hand to help him sit up. "Kishin egg?"

"Kishin egg," she affirmed, pulling him to his feet with a sombre smile. "Are you ready?"

"Almost." Shay smiled patiently as Hunk stretched.

"We must make haste," she said, "but I know you must be exhausted."

"I am, but you're right. Let's go."

"Lance? Keith?" she glanced over at the pair of them. "Are you ready?"

"Both ready," said Keith. Lance echoed the sentiment. "Lead the way."

Hunk transformed, his large gun form falling into Shay's hands. She carried him with graceful ease despite how large and clunky his weapon form appeared. It was majestic to look at. Until Shay opened the window and jumped right out.

"Wha-?" Lance gaped a bit and was shook from his surprise by Keith's gloved hand slipping into his. "Um-"

"I've got to transform and then you've got to go follow them."

"Out of a window?"

"We don't have time for you to be afraid of heights." His hand became metal in an instant. "Let's go."

"Right." Lance carefully clambered out of the window and took off. Not far away, he could see Shay jumping between houses and heading directly for the plume of smoke that emanated from between two buildings. "She seems to be having no trouble with it."

"Get going, Lance," ordered Keith.

"I am going." Lance set to following Shay, doing as he'd been trained and trying not to look down. They moved steadily towards the smoke where the kishin egg no doubt was. By the time Lance and Keith arrived on the scene, they could see the wreck of a house the creature had destroyed. Shay had taken up the high ground and was using Hunk to shoot at the creature below. It took each shot with a roar, grabbing chunks of the broken house and trying to knock the pair down. She maneuvered between rooftops with an agility that Lance had never seen from her, firing bullets in rapid succession.

"They work really well together."

Keith's face shone off the flat of the blade. "Of course, they're good. They've been training for months."

"It's not just that," said Lance, watching as Shay got even closer to the kishin egg, no doubt preparing for the final blow. "They're so in sync. Every shot is precise and concentrated. Hunk's a great weapon but accuracy is not his forte. And Shay's soul… It's like she's guiding him so that all the shots hit their targets."

Lance felt rather than saw Keith's nod in agreement and would have said more if the kishin hadn't suddenly roared and come at Shay and Hunk with renewed strength. "What in the-"

"It was practically dead on its feet," gaped Lance. "How is this possible?"

"A second wind?" Keith offered, although there was a little hesitance in his comment. "That has to be it."

"Yeah, maybe," said Lance before propping Keith's weapon form up and staring at the reflection, "but it still feels kind of off."

"Off how?"

"I can't put my finger on it." Ahead, Shay dodged the creature's punches and shot it with her own wavelength. "I'm getting a weird feeling. The same type I've gotten before."

"This better not be another fart joke, Lance, or so help me-"

"It's not!" Lance huffed. "Look, it's a lot like when we fought that weird kishin egg at school. There's obviously the one they're fighting, one that we can see. But maybe there's a second one."

"That still doesn't explain its renewed energy."

It was a good point. Of course it was. It just wasn't exactly what Lance had been trying to get at. "I know, Keith, but-" He cut himself off quickly, feet digging into the shingles of the roof. "It's coming."

"What is?"

The feeling mounted sharply, and Lance raised Keith's blade up to block the incoming attack. The kishin egg's attack came slicing down. Lance grunted as the two blades met.

"Shit," said Keith, although it sounded like he was gritting his teeth.

"We've got to take this thing out," said Lance, "or a least hold it off until Shay and Hunk get here."

There was a quiet pause from Keith, before: "Somehow, I don't think we'll make it that far. We have to kill it."

"Keith-"

"You said it yourself: we've been training for this." Lance could hear the curl of a smirk in Keith's voice as he said, "Don't you want to show off our progress?"

"Keith, buddy," Lance parried an attack and grinned at his weapon. There was a rush of confidence coming from Keith's soul, and Lance was drunk on it. "You know the words to my heart."

"You're too easy," chuckled Keith. "Now, let's get this soul!"

Lance backed away from the kishin egg, watched it snarl back at him with crazed eyes and demented body that twisted forward with bloodlust. He pointed to the blade at the mottled remains of the human before them. "For all the trouble and death you've caused, your soul is mine."

"Corny," coughed Keith, but Lance ignored him in favour of lunging forward, Keith's weapon form gleaming in the lamplight as they aimed for the monster's head, but the kishin egg defended with its own weapon. In the background, Lance could hear Shay calling something out, but he pushed on. He and Keith were going to beat this thing if it was the last thing they'd ever do. Lance could feel Keith's determination thrumming through his soul; it rippled and waved from his weapon form. The kishin egg tried a flurry of attacks again, but it couldn't anticipate Lance's fluid movements. He avoided each attack, blade remaining on the defensive.

"Lance," came Keith's warning voice.

"Come on, Keith, I know what I'm doing."

"Just attack."

"Not yet."

"You're going to get us killed," insisted Keith bitingly, but whether he knew it or not, his wavelength betrayed his worry for Lance's wellbeing. That thought alone lessened some of the strain in his muscles, pushed him a little further.

"Almost," Lance murmured, deftly side-stepping attacks. The kishin egg roared clearly frustrated in Lance's distinct lack of death and pitched forward with raised blades. Lance grit his teeth. The move he was planning would be difficult to pull off, but not impossible. A solid cut through the middle would be enough to defeat it. Keith's blade met rapidly with the kishin egg's weapon, clashing again and again. The creature suddenly sustaining a noticeable cut on his arm, came at them enraged, and in a flurry, managed to cut into Lance's leg.

Keith shouted his name, but Lance persisted, pressing the creature back and landed two blows to the creature's wounded arm and cutting it off entirely. It let out a pained howl, distracting the other kishin egg and allowing Hunk and Shay to finish the first kishin off. Lance wanted to cheer for them, but he and Keith had bigger, deadlier problems. "Lance," hissed Keith from within the blade, "are you okay."

"I'm great."

"Just back down. Hunk and Shay can take over now. We don't have to do this."

"What? Give up? Are you chicken?"

"No, but-"

"Then have a little faith in us. We can do this." Tentatively, just as they had in training, Lance's soul reached for Keith's. They came together gently, then with more determination on both sides. He felt a surge of strength ripple through his body. For a brief moment, he and Keith were the only two people in the whole town. Their souls came together, burning like stars, blending into one another. Lance felt as though he could see every thought, feel every emotion that Keith could feel. There was a worry for him, happiness at their successful resonance, and then, suddenly, fear. The fear was so sharp and primal that it stunned him. Suddenly, it felt like all Lance could see of Keith were little fragments, like peeking through the cracks of a towering dam. It could come down at any moment, but it was reinforced with strength and desperation.

It was at this moment that Lance realized that Keith really was hiding something.

"Focus on the battle," Keith said sharply, bringing Lance back to the present. He drew Keith up just in time to block another attack. It forced him back, but Lance tried his best to hold his ground. Their wavelengths beat together, resonating as Lance dove and, with a battle cry of his own, plunged his weapon through the kishin egg. He felt the resistance, felt the hulk of the creature give sharply and crumple inwards before unravelling. It swirled into the darkness, body evaporating only to be replaced by a dark red soul, hovering with evil energy before Keith and Lance.

The rush of energy from their battle dimmed and Lance broke his battle stance with a sigh of relief. Keith was back at his side soon enough, a human arm snaking around Lance's torso to hold him up.

"Lance-" he began, but the meister turned to his weapon with a wide smile.

"Keith, we did it! We actually did it!" He could practically see his own reflection in his weapon's eyes before Keith looked away sharply.

"Yeah, we did it."

"Thank Death." Lance leaned into Keith a bit more before reaching with his free hand for the soul. "Our first soul," he breathed. "Only 98 regular ones to go and then a witch soul." Keith looked to him again. "For you."

Keith reached as well, taking the soul in his hand and drawing it closer. Lance watched him stare at it, then he opened his mouth to swallow it. Only, it never reached his mouth at all. Instead, it flew away into the hands of another.

"Hey, that's ours! What do you-" began Lance indignantly before the words died in his throat. The soul of the kishin egg was now in the claws of a cloaked figure sitting atop what looked like a broom. She had long fingers that curled around the soul and silver hair that fell far past her shoulders and pooled in her lap. And her aura. Just the energy she gave out had Lance pressing himself even closer to Keith's side, hand outstretched as if to take him and wield him again.

Or to protect him from what Lance felt was a bonafide witch.

"Meisters and weapons back at it again, I see," the witch drawled, voice twisting in the wind like noise from a distorted speaker, "and for my pets to be bested by amateurs? It's disappointing." Although the shadow of her hood hid her face from view, Lance could still spot the wild grin on her mouth. "Seems like you show more promise than anticipated. At least you won't be boring." She turned the soul in her hands idly. "I'll have to return with more pets for you to play with."

"These are corrupted souls," shouted Lance, "not lives to be toyed with. They must be cleansed."

"Ass if that is a concern to me." The witch laughed, broom rising higher. "We'll play again some time else, boys. Vrepit sa."

Lance felt Keith stiffen instantly, and Keith was soon shouting his own curses, many of which did not make much sense to him. "Galra witch," he growled, "come back here!"

"Keith, what's wrong?"

"That's her. That's the witch-" Keith looked at Lance wildly but broke off, as if surprised to see Lance standing next to him and not somebody else. He let go of Lance's hand like it burned him. "I've seen her before. We have to go after her." Keith tried to move towards her, and Lance was ready to follow, but his injury had him buckling down with a gasp of pain. His leg was still weak as the adrenaline rush for survival faded away, and Keith seemed torn between being livid at this new (old?) enemy and expressing intense concern for his partner. Both boys threw a look at the witch who, for someone in the process of escaping, didn't seem to be trying very hard to leave. It was as if she was trying to tease them.

"Keith," said Lance tiredly, a hand wrapped around Keith's arm. "we don't have enough experience. We can't chase her."

"I-" He lowered Lance to a flatter side of the rooftop they were on and helped Lance sit before taking his hands away completely. "I have to go after her."

Lance's jaw dropped. Was Keith actually going to just him there to chase after a witch alone? "Keith, no. Don't-"

His arm transformed in a flash of light, and Keith pursued the witch, jumping between rooftops to try and catch up with her. He moved like a force of nature, pressing up and onwards in a manner that reminded Lance, suddenly, of track races watching as Keith pulled away from the pack during cross country. Keith was independent and he enjoyed working alone. He'd been turned away from the relay team because none of his teammates could put up with him.

Lance laughed bitterly to himself. If he thought he'd be able to stop Keith, it was surely a delusion. Who was he kidding? There was no way he'd convince Keith not to go after something if he was that passionate about it.

Because even though Lance hadn't been able to fully resonate with Keith, the fear and anxiety he had sensed were real, and those same feelings were clearly attributed to the witch. And so was his anger. If Keith truly did know her, he would be intent on seeking her out, on getting the answers that he wanted.

So, as Keith raced away to kill the witch, Lance stayed silent, watching the back of his weapon and hoping he wouldn't die.

Keith got back to their hotel room in the early morning hours. He scaled the building and slipped in through their open window where the lights all remained off. Stretching, Keith surveyed the room. Shay was asleep in bed, Lance was laying on the pull out couch, and Hunk? Hunk was on his phone, light glowing on his tan face as he scrolled idly through something. When his gaze met Keith's, he felt his heart sinking. Hunk hadn't even said anything and Keith could practically hear the disappointment already.

"You're back."

Keith shifted his weight nervously and grabbed at his pyjamas on the arm of the couch. "Yeah."

"Did you at least get the witch?" Keith looked away and could hear Hunk sigh. "I thought so."

Keith's hands fisted, his earlier frustration returning. "Hunk, I had to go after her," he blurted out.

"No, you didn't."

"You don't get it."

"You're right, man, I don't get it," Hunk said flatly. "She could have killed you in an instant. We were lucky she retreated at all." There was a pause that hung heavy between them. Keith knew that Hunk was right, deep down, but his own mind fought to reject those feelings. "I know you're used to being on your own, but you and Lance are a team now. Leaving your meister defenseless is something that we, as weapons, must avoid at all costs. That's weapon's class 101, Keith, you know that." Another beat of silence between them. "Don't get me wrong; we all wanted to go after that witch, and we're happy you're safe, but that was dangerous. Don't worry us like that, alright?"

Despite the guilt that sat thick in his throat, something he hadn't felt in a while began to grow in his chest. "You don't…I mean," he amended, "you never asked me why I went after her."

Hunk blinked at him and turned off his phone, setting it on the table nearby and laying himself down completely on one side of Lance. "I did not."

"Why?"

"Keith," said Hunk seriously, "you're our friend. If you wanted to tell us why, you would have."

"Oh." Keith began changing. That was… unexpectedly nice to hear. "Thank you."

Once he'd tugged on his shorts, Keith crawled in next to his companions, careful not to jostle his partner as he slept.

They were all settled, Keith not bothering to tug the blanket over himself when Hunk said, "You know, Lance was really worried about you."

"Yeah?"

"We tried to ask him about why you left, but he just said you were going to be back eventually, that it wasn't our business. I don't know why he defended your reasons, especially since it was clear he didn't know them and was just as concerned about you as we were, but you should thank him. As frustrating as he may be, Lance is most loyal meister you'll ever meet. I'm really hoping this works for you guys."

Keith watched Lance mumble in his sleep, brows furrowed from a dream he couldn't reach. His gaze couldn't help but fall on the bandages wrapped around his leg just under the cuff of his sleep shorts.

"Me too, Hunk," Keith admitted. Lance's hand twitched fitfully, and Keith took it in his own. He tried most delicately to reach out to Lance with his soul. If he could soothe even a small part of him, then he would do it. Keith did not sleep until his meister's brow relaxed, tugging Keith's hand to his chest like a treasured toy with his soul quite at peace.